The Pakistani delegation and mediator Turkiye are making a last-ditch effort to settle the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghan soil through dialogue and logic during the talks with the interim Taliban rulers in Istanbul, sources said on Tuesday.
Both sides held a series of hours-long dialogues in the Turkish capital, with the Afghan delegation changing its stance due to instructions received from Kabul each time.
"Pakistan and Afghanistan held 18-hour talks on Monday, and now the dialogues are moving towards the final round," the sources privy to the development said.
They said that the Afghan Taliban delegation has acknowledged Pakistan's demand for action against militants and terrorists operating from their soil, but they kept changing their stance on instructions from Kabul.
Both agreed to a ceasefire brokered in Doha on October 19, but could not find common ground in a second round of talks mediated by Turkiye and Qatar in Istanbul, Afghan and Pakistani sources briefed on the issue said, according to Reuters.
A Pakistani security source said the Taliban had been unwilling to commit to rein in the TTP, which operates with impunity inside Afghanistan.
The sources added that the third day of the Istanbul talks held on Monday was marred by disagreements, with Pakistan insisting on its proposals while the Afghan Taliban delegation remained constrained by instructions from Kabul.
Mediators also recognised Pakistan's demands as reasonable and legitimate, the sources said, adding that the Afghan negotiators themselves, interestingly, believed it was right to accept Islamabad's counterterrorism demands.
Security sources said the Afghan Taliban kept taking directions from Kabul and repeatedly consulted the Afghan administration during the talks.
"The delegation appears to be under Kabul's control, creating delays in progress," they added.
According to the sources, Pakistan has consistently stressed that accepting its demands is in everyone's interest, a point also conveyed to the Taliban side by the host countries.
The two neighbouring nations are witnessing heightened tensions amid the Afghan Taliban regime's reluctance to act against terrorist groups operating from its soil, in the backdrop of rising terror attacks in Pakistan.
The tensions were escalated when the Taliban forces and India-backed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), alias Fitna al-Khawarij, resorted to an unprovoked attack on Pakistan on October 12.
The Pakistan Armed Forces gave a befitting response to the aggression, killing over 200 Afghan Taliban and affiliated militants in a self-defence action.
The military's media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said that 23 soldiers embraced martyrdom in the clashes with the Taliban forces and the terrorists.
Furthermore, the security forces also conducted “precision strikes” in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province and the capital Kabul, as well as in the border areas of North and South Waziristan districts, successfully destroying multiple strongholds in response to the aggression.
The two sides had agreed on a temporary ceasefire during the Doha talks on October 19 and to hold further meetings to establish a permanent mechanism to ensure peace and stability.
—With additional input from Reuters